Monday, June 27, 2005

Mondays with Maida - Blind Date Cookies

These are soft cookies, each with a walnut-stuffed date inside and a thin glaze on top. I thought they were a little too sweet.

If these had been easier to make I might have liked them better. The dough is very thin - almost like a batter - and the stuffed dates must be dipped in it. Maida Heatter suggested using two forks to roll the date around in the dough until generously coated. I found this technique awkward and it took me a while to get the hang of it. Eventually, I found a method that worked for me. I would run the forks slightly below the date, lifting it and turning it.

I think I was muttering a lot while making these cookies - they weren't fun and the results were frustrating. The cookies came out various sizes and I didn't think they looked all that appealing. Surprisingly, most of the cookie panel loved them. Everyone was very impressed with the stuffed date and was wondering how I got the nut in there (which is very easy if you don't try to use a whole walnut half as specified in the recipe - I used half of a half, or a couple of smaller pieces). It was getting the date into the cookie that was troublesome!

Suzanne: "I LOVED these cookies. I could have eaten them all. I usually try to eat only one cookie, since I'm trying to watch my girlish figure, but I'm sure I'll be going back for more. Rating - 5"

Terri: "Although I love sweets, I thought the icing made the cookie too sweet. The walnut inside the date was a pleasant surprise. Cookie could have been bulkier - it is fairly flat with lump in middle (blind date). would be tasty with a sorbet. Rating - 3"

Phil: "A blind date worth the risk. This cookie works at several levels – sugary sweet glaze and fruity sweet date with a textural mix of a cakey cookie and sticky date enveloping a chunk of walnut. Rating - 4.4"

Maida loves glazes. I usually can't be bothered with them. Cookies, and other foods, that have a mystery aspect to them usually seem to be popular. Like those checkerboard shortbread cookies? Everyone always wonders how they're made.I guess the exception would be if the suprise were something strange or gross.

Hi Alice - Thanks! Yes, for me I think the icing put the sweetness level over the top. The cookie itself isn't that interesting either - soft, sweet and vanilla-flavored. Long ago I made a like-named cookie from one of my Mom's cookbooks. I have the cookbook now and am tempted to try that version again. With those you drop some dough, place the stuffed date on top, and cover with more dough. Only thing is it calls for shortening, which I'm a little leary of these days.

Hi Nic - I hadn't thought about that before, but I think you're right. Eight of the cookies I've made so far have had a glaze or icing. I guess those little mysteries appeal in the kid in us!

Hi Chocopie! I love dates, but I can see where one would think they're rather plain and just very sweet. You ought to try a stuffed date before you go to the trouble of making these cookies... take a slender piece of walnut or pecan (a half of a half) and push it through the hole of a pitted date (or slit open the date and form the date around the nut). Then roll the date in granulated sugar. Yum - so simple, but really wonderful!

Hi Santos - what an interesting idea, if only I weren't afraid of deep fat frying....I'll have to leave that experiment to you! I bet it would be like a cake donut, only with a stuffed date inside. It would probably be delicious. Even putting the glaze on top sounds good that way.

About Me

My name is Cathy and I live in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC in the USA. I love to cook, but have had a tendency to do it strictly by the book. I love to eat too, but have an unfortunately long list of dislikes. It's time for a change.